Citroen has released the first details of its upcoming second-generation Citroen C4, revealing an elegant package promising to be practical, individual, technologically advanced and environmentally friendly.

Taking styling cues from both the C3 city car and C5 sedan, the new C4’s sculpted lines, flowing surfaces and quality finish give it a more premium appearance compared with the outgoing model.

Edward Rowe from Ateco, Citroen’s Australian distributor, said the unveiling and release of the car over the next 12 months will follow a familiar pattern.

“It’s pretty well the standard Citroen rollout for new mainstream models,” he said.

“They do a teaser at the beginning of June, they then show the car at the autumn European motor show, they do a French rollout usually around October/November, right-hand drive production starts usually in February/March, and that sort of points to a third-quarter launch for us, which is essentially where we are with C3 and DS3 for this year.

“Citroen run a pretty regimented rollout program so that’s what we’d expect.”

At 4.33m/1.79m/149m it is 5cm longer, 2cm wider and 3cm taller than the model it replaces adding head and leg room, and Citroen claims its 408 litre boot will be the largest in its class and among the most practical thanks to its square dimensions and lower sill.

Personalisation has been a focus of the new C4, with drivers able to select the colour of the instrument display, choose their own polyphonic sound alerts, make fine adjustments to the air conditioning and even enjoy a massage in select models.

Citroen says a number of new technologies will make the C4 a safer and more convenient car for drivers and passengers, including a blind-spot monitoring system, cornering lights, cruise control and speed-limiter with road memory settings, and the new eTouch system which allows drivers to monitor their driving style and fuel consumption and gives advice on ways to improve economy.

The C4 will be available with Citroen’s new Stop & Start micro-hybrid e-HDi powertrains, promising CO2 emissions as low as 109g/km from launch and 99g/km on future models.

The French manufacturer has not said whether the car’s weight has increased, but says the use of laser welding and 15 percent green materials like recycled polyamide components enhances its environmental credentials.

Mr Rowe said Citroen Australia is yet to decide on the particular variants it will offer when the new C4 arrives, but said justifying importing the most environmentally friendly models was always difficult because of their higher prices.

“There’s no technical issue why any of these variants shouldn’t come to Australia, they’re designed for all markets. It really comes down to us deciding what is the most suitable variant for our market.

“Something we have to take into account is that some of these top-end, low-emissions, low-consumption power units and drivetrains are designed for the European tax regime and that’s simply a tax regime we don’t have in Australia.

“Until we see pricing and know where they fit into an Australian pricing regime, it’s only then that we can decide whether they’re suitable for this market or not.”

Mr Rowe said the outgoing C4 range will continue with the variants currently available as it is run out over the next 12 months.